There is a tight list of countries with dishes bearing “international cuisine†status, with the French and the Italian battling for top position. And sadly, our very own Filipino cuisine falls short in terms of popularity to even qualify for a place in the top 10. But the Sooo Pinoy food campaign is determined to change just that.
Pioneered by Unilever Food Solutions in 2010, the Sooo Pinoy: Promoting Filipino Cuisine 
campaign advocates to finally put the Philippines in the cuisine map by increasing buzz and appreciation of our local dishes.
Last year, with an online voting contest, they led the search for the best Pinoy Dish with the “Sinigang na Hipon†emerging triumphant. And for 2011, the Sooo Pinoy campaign is now geared towards naming the best food establishments serving the best Pinoy dishes nationwide.
To get the word out about their new project, Unilever Food Solutions organized the Sooo Pinoy Food Tour, inviting 15 bloggers to a one-of-a-kind food trip aboard a WiFi-enabled bus around various food places in Metro Manila. Thankfully, I was part of the lucky bunch who got to participate in the event.
Everyone met up on June 11, 2011 at Adarna Food & Culture along Kalayaan Ave. in Diliman, Quezon City, the first stop in our food tour where we also had quite an unforgettable lunch prepared by executive chef and owner Giney Villar.
For a chef her age, it’s very awe-inspiring that Chef Giney has taken a brave move of ignoring what the market dictates to earn easy money, like going for Italian or American food. Rather, she chose to start a restaurant business with aims of preserving and promoting the gustatory excellence of Filipino cuisine.
Lunch began with one of Adarna’s best-selling dishes, the Seafood Special (P485, pictured below), a mix of shrimps, scallops, and squids with several veggies all cooked in a tomato-based stew. I don’t usually get allergies when eating seafood. This time I did, possibly ‘cause of the scallops, but I think this delicious dish was worth a day of scratching. 😀
Next dish served was something I was quite familiar with. The Adobong Batangas Ala Adarna (P240, pictured below) is pork stewed in vinegar. Coming from a failed low-fat and low-carb diet, the sight of all that oil in the dish made me cringe. But I did end up eating a whole serving all by myself. I loved that it’s more of a dry-type adobo, different from what my Nanay prepares at home.
Chef Giney introduced the next dish, “Bicol Express (P298, pictured below),†but what we had on the table was far a cry from what I was expecting to see. Adarna’s version of the Bicol Express is a plate of several battered green chili fingers stuffed with ground pork and cooked in coconut milk sauce. And for someone like me who prefers everything hot and spicy, this dish was surely my favorite.
And no meal is ever complete without dessert. The Kesong Puti and Langka Fry (P95, picture below) is a dessert with small pillow-shaped fritters stuffed with Kesong Puti (white cheese) and Langka (jackfruit), served with sweet langka sauce. It’s an interesting combination, for the saltiness of the cheese complements the sweetness of the langka, making this dish a great way to end lunch.
Right after lunch, Chef Giney Villar, gave us a short tour of the restaurant while relaying great stories of how she was able to take possession of various historical memorabilia that lined the walls and served as furnishings for the establishment.
Adarna Food & Culture is only one of the seven food destinations in our Sooo Pinoy Food Tour. After a couple of group photos, we went on our way to the next stop of our food tour. I’ll be telling you about the others on my next posts.
Adarna Food & Culture
119 Kalayaan Avenue, Dimilam, Quezon City
For the Love of Pinoy Cuisine
…ignore the chopsticks and sushi on my photo below 😀
Related websites: Sooo Pinoy on Facebook | Sooo Pinoy on Twitter
Group photo of all us who joined the Sooo Pinoy Food Tour
i like to try the kesong puti and langka fry hihi, i am more on desserts whenever we dine out ahaha